Engineering firm SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is teaming up with a firm co-owned by a former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations for preliminary work on a proposed B.C. oil refinery.

A-in-Chut Business Group, jointly owned by Shawn Atleo, has formed a partnership with SNC-Lavalin to do pre-engineering studies for Pacific Future Energy.

Pacific Future Energy’s goal is to process tar-like bitumen from Alberta at a plant to be built near Prince Rupert, B.C., and export refined petroleum products to Asia by tanker. Company officials say the risk to the environment would be much lower than exporting bitumen in tankers.

Grand Chief Warren White and Energy East Pipeline President François Poirier shake hands during a traditional ceremony in the sacred roundhouse of the Wauzhushk Onigum community, near Kenora, Ont.

Christopher Curtis, Montreal Gazette, July 30, 2015

TransCanada has quietly been meeting with First Nations leaders ahead of its Energy East pipeline project, signing 32 “capacity funding agreements” with aboriginal communities in the past two years.

Through these agreements, the energy firm donates money to a reserve and, in return, gets to pitch its $12 billion pipeline to community members.

TransCanada is heavily invested in these deals but insists none of its contributions to First Nations are meant to entice support for Energy East. However, Kanesatake Grand Chief Serge Simon says that accepting said money comes with stipulations he isn’t prepared to honour.

KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) — An Access to Information request has revealed that during the course of anti-shale gas protests in New Brunswick in 2013, 5th Canadian Division Support Base (CDSB) Gagetown, Eastern Canada’s largest military facility, was contacted on two separate occasions by high ranking members of the Mi’kmaq Warrior Society. On each occasion, the Warrior Society – one of the key strategic groups involved in the on-the-ground protests that would ultimately see 100 activists arrested – requested negotiators from the Canadian Armed Forces, citing a breakdown in trust and an increasingly toxic working relationship with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Read the rest of this entry →

The federal government is taking eight First Nations to court in a bid to force compliance with the First Nations Financial Transparency Act, which became law one year ago.

The FNFTA requires First Nations to submit audited financial statements, along with the salaries of the chief and councillors. That information is posted publicly on the internet. So far, 570 of 582 First Nations have complied, and four others are working co-operatively with the federal government to meet the requirements. Read the rest of this entry →

Members of the Public Safety Unit guard the site of the Enbridge Northern Gateway hearings in Vancouver, BC, Jan 24, 2013.

The future of Canada’s two largest pipeline projects hinges on the cooperation of First Nations throughout the country.

by Christopher Curtis, Montreal Gazette, July 8, 2015

With billions of dollars and swaths of aboriginal territory at stake, the Assembly of First Nations will try to leverage their legal rights and force a negotiation with Canada’s energy producers and the federal government. AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde said Tuesday he plans on hosting a national energy forum in February with the goal of getting big oil, Ottawa and First Nations at the table. Read the rest of this entry →

by Jorge Barrera, APTN National News, June 24, 2015
The Assembly of First Nations chiefs executive is “concerned” about the national chief’s decision to hire his ‘girlfriend’ as a senior adviser.

AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde hired his partner Valerie Galley to act as his senior adviser. Galley acted as an adviser to Bellegarde while he was chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians and regional AFN chief for the province.

Dene Nation Chief Bill Erasmus, who is regional chief of the Northwest Territories, said the issue came up during a recent executive meeting and that matter is still under discussion. Read the rest of this entry →

Aboriginal Affairs is reviewing a complaint that Indian status cards were being issued out of a Thunder Bay, Ont. hotel room as part of a scheme to re-elect the incumbent chief at Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation.

The election took place on June 8, returning Judy Maunula to office. Her challenger, Kathleen Sawdo, is appealing the results under the First Nation’s custom election code. Read the rest of this entry →

Benefits of oil boom for northern First Nation outweigh the losses caused by industrial development, for now

by Brandi Morin, APTN National News, June 23, 2015

The main road running through Fort McKay looks like it was newly paved and painted.

It is bright and green here, looking fresh and on the brink of summer.

The river flows gently alongside the community as the day comes alive with the sounds of power tools, trucks and other machinery echoing against the backdrops of its forested setting. Read the rest of this entry →

By Steve Rennie, The Canadian Press/APTN National News, March 27, 2015

OTTAWA – Shawn Atleo’s abrupt resignation as national chief cost the Assembly of First Nations more than just its leader.

New documents show the federal government turned down the assembly’s request for an extra $324,000 to cover the unforeseen expenses that arose when Atleo quit his job last May.

Atleo stepped down amid fears that he’d become what he himself called a “lightning rod” for controversy as a result of having backed the Conservative government’s proposed reforms to First Nations education. Read the rest of this entry →